My interest in watching football is about on par with my interest in wearing harem pants--slim to non-existent--but when I heard there were see-through pants to be seen on this year's NFL players, courtesy of a new uniform contract with Nike, let's say I was slightly more curious than usual.

...and then I saw this, which, sorry to report to my Fantasy Football-obsessed husband, pretty much all but guaranteed I wouldn't watch a single play all season. Yikes, right?!

That's the backside of Detroit Lions offensive lineman Jeff Backus, which became unsettlingly visible--jock strap and all--about a week ago when he started to get sweaty in a game against the St. Louis Rams. Yahoo's sports blog, The Post Game, was witness to all of the, er, action: "One of the biggest offseason moves in the NFL was a billion-dollar deal that affected every franchise. The league switched to Nike as its uniform supplier after 10 years with Reebok, and the new line made its debut as the regular season got underway....Of course, advances in technology come with unintended consequences or unfortunate byproducts -- or both, if you happened to be watching the Lions-Rams game Sunday. Check out the multi-fabric concept in jarring reality, courtesy of Detroit left tackle Jeff Backus."

That's a lot of sweaty bum for a Sunday afternoon, dontcha think? But according to the blog Sports Biz USA, Nike let them know this was a player-specific incident: "Nike spokesman Brian Strong sent me an e-mail saying Backus’ wardrobe malfunction 'seems to be an isolated issue.' Said Strong: 'We’re working closely with the Lions to solve this issue for the player.'"

Now, if Nike felt like bringing that same "technology" to David Beckham's L.A. Galaxy team, we might not have too many complaints...